Hand-plane.



N0. 760,074. PATENTED MATH, 1904.

W. E. LEE.

' HAND PLANE.

APPLICATION FILED rmm, 1901.

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H! tl-apl ey H0 MODEL.

W0. WUMM. PATENTED MAY 1% 190%.

HANK! PLANE. AP?LIOATIO]W1FILED FEJBA, 1901.

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M0 MODEL.

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' UNITED STATES Patented May 17, 1904.

PATENT. OFFICE.

HAND-PLANE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 760,074, dated May 17, 1904.

i Application filed February 4, 1901- Serial No. 45,815- (No model.) l

To (all whom it may concern? 1 Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. LEE, 9. citizen of the United States, residing at Weymouth, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hand-Planes, of

which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

In the construction of planes for ordinary carpentry work and for smoothing floors and decks and sides of vessels it is customary to provide a smooth sided block with a blade which by being forced over the surface of the wood cuts thin shavings therefrom until the desired exactness is obtained. The trouble with this form of plane is that considerable muscular energy is required in operating it,

it 1s comparatively slow in action, it makes bad work on knots andcross-grained sections of the wood, and in many forms of work, as in planing floors, decks, and especially sides of vessels, it is awkward to use and very hard and tiresome. Attempts struct a deck-smoothing instrument mounted on supporting-wheels the forcible rotation of which by the propulsion of theinstrument was caused to actuate revolving cutter-blades; but this has proved of even less convenience than the ordinary hand plane, considerable more energy being required for its propulsion and it being less efiicient in character of work performed.

The object of my invention is the construction of a hand-plane which should be free from all the objections above referred to and in addition embody certain positive advantages.

- My invention for this purpose comprises a smooth faced block carrying re olving cutterblades operated by an-electric motor receiving its energizing currentthrough suit- .able lead-wiresfrom an external source of electricity.

Referring to the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure l is 'a longitudinal section of my plane through the line X X in Fig. 4. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. partly in section, of a portion of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail View of a cross-bar forming part of the cutter-adjusting mechanism. Fig. 4 is a plan view, partly in section, along the line Y Y in have been made to con- Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the rotary cutter, showing the device for setting the blades. Fig. 6 is a transverse section of said device.

The plane block is formed, preferably, of

cast-steel, and consists of the smooth bottom 1 and sides 2. The handle 6 is of the usual construction,

suitably afiixed to the bottom.

In the bottom is a slot 3 to receive the cutterblades blocks 13, rigid with the shaft 14. At the gear 15, designed for rotating the latter. This gear meshes with the larger gear 45, fixed upon, the shaft 44, carrying the armature 40, said shaft being revoluble in suitable bearingbosses projectingfrom the sides 2. This armature has commutator 41 and brushes 42, supported by the insulated posts 43, the current 10, which are adjustably secured to the o being derived through the lead-wires 60, provided with terminal plugs61, adapted to be inserted in suitable sockets, the latter being connected with the motor through the switch 65, which is designed to be easily operated by means of the forefinger of the hand grasping the handle 6. i

The motor and gearing are protected by the nonsmagnetic shield 48. (Shown in Figs. 1 and 4.)

To render the cutter capable of adjustment both to insure its parallelism with the face of the plane and to vary the cut, the cutterbearings are arranged as follows: Each end of the shaft 14 is tapered and surrounded with antifriction-balls l7, fitting in the cup 20.

Said cups are externally threaded and turn.

friction-tight in the correspondingly-threaded sockets 21 of the levers 22. These levers are offset, as shown in Fig. 4, a part being flush with the interior of the sides and part being flush with the exterior, the sides being apertured to make room for the same and said levers being loosely mounted on the spindle 26, terminally fixed in the sides 2. The end of each lever opposite to the socket 21 is forked,

as shown in Fig. 2, and into such forks or notches 25 are inserted the shouldered ends of the bar 27. This bar is introduced between the three fingers 32 34, projecting from the sleeve 30, screws 33 35 serving to locate said bar firmly in place. This is done by thescrew 33 turningin the central finger 32 against the bar 27 and the screws 35 turning in the bar 27 against the under fingers The sleeve is revolubly mounted on the spindle 31, held by the plane sides 2, and has the arm 36 projecting into engagement with the other tightened, thereby changing the angle of the bar relative to the face of the plane. This varies the positions of the levers 22, throwing one slightly up and the other slightly down, and so shifts the angle of the cuttershaft 14 relative the face of the plane, but in an opposite direction to the shifting of the bar 27. In this manner Iam enabled to adjust the angle of'the cutter-blades with respect to the plane, while the lever 37 permits of a quick adjustment of the said blades to cause them to cut a thinner or thicker shaving, as desired.

The reference-numeral 29 indicates a guard for preventing the shavings from being thrown upon and accumulating about the knob and the adjusting devices.

The cutter-blades 10 are made adjustable by means of the slots 11 and screws 12 in order to enable wear to be taken up. To properly set the blades after having been sharpened and replaced, I employ the gage 50. (Shown in Figs. 1, 5, and 6.) By bringing this gage up to a horizontal position and setting the upper corners of the blocks 13 against the edge 50* thereof the blade on the upper face of said blocks is brought against the ledge or bar proper, 50, and its accurate adjustment-thereby assured. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, this gage-bar is formed with two arms 52, pivoted to the shield 48, one of the arm ends being made rectangular and a leafspring 53 provided to press against such rec- 5o tangular ends and to thereby retain the gagebar in either its normal vertical position out of the way of the cutter-blades or raised into the position shown in Figs. 1 and 6.

As indicated inFig. 2, the socket ends 21 of the levers 22 are split at 24 in order that the cups 20 may be held so tightly as to prevent their unloosening.

In using this electric plane the handle 6 is grasped with the right hand, and the left hand is placed when needed upon the knob 60 and the plane moved at the proper speed over the board or other length of wood to be planed. If the rotating cutter-blades bite too deeply, the fingers of the left hand on the knob give the lever 37 a movement toward the left,

while a thicker cut is ohlainml by swinging the lever toward the right. With the forelinger of the right "hand the switch is turned to throw the currenton or oil, according to whether work is being done or the plane is to be laid upon the bench. ln this manner the electric plane is used substantially the same as those of the present construction, its ad vantages being, however, very numerous and marked, both as to rapidity and accuracy of work accomplished and the ease with which it can be done.

The arrangement of the cutter-adjusting lever 37 is such that whenever the work required of the cutter is too great and it slows down too much the lever can be instantly swung toward the left and the strain on the cutter reduced.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and for which I desire Letters Patent, is as follows, to-wit:

1. .The combination with a smooth-surfaced plane-block having a transverse slot therein, of a revolving cutter located in said slot, an electric motor actuating said cutter, and leadwires to said motor from an external source of electricity, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a smooth-surfaced plane-block, having a transverse slot therein, of a revolving cutter located in said slot, bearings for said cutter adjustable both individually and jointly, an electric motor for actuating said cutter, and lead-wires to the motor from an external source of electricity, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a plane-block, of a revolving cutter, bearings therefor, two levers pivotally held in said block, means for angularly adjusting said levers, and a motor for actuating the cutter, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a plane-block, of a revolving cutter,'bearings therefor, a lever for each bearing pivoted to the block, means for adjusting said levers separately and for moving them in unison, and a motor for actuating the cutter, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a plane-block. of a revolving cutter, bearings therefor, two pivoted levers supporting the bearings, a crossbar connected with said levers, pivoted lingers including said cross-bar and set-screws adjustably binding said lingers to said crossbar, and means for adjusting all said fingers in unison, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a plane-block, of a revolving cutter, bearings therefor, two levers supporting said bearings, a rocking sleeve having the fingers including said cross-bar and adjustably bound thereto, an arm projecting from said sleeve, and a lever-operated camgroove engaging said arm, substantially as described.

7. The combination of the plane-block comprising the bottom and two sides, said bottom having the revolving cutter located therein IIO and the sides having the slots, the oifsetlevjers' said ball-bearings, the cutter-blades carried partially located in said slots and formed with by said shaft, and means for revolving said bearings revolubly supporting'said cutter, and shaft, substantially as described.- a means for adjusting said levers, substantially In testimony that I claim the foregoing in- 5 as described- Vention I have hereunto set my hand this 16th 5 8. The combination of the plane-block comday of January, 1901.

prising the bottom and two sides each slotted, WILLIAM E. LEE. the offset levers partially located in the side Witnesses: slots, the ball-bearing cups adjustably held by FRED L. GAPPERS,

10 said levers, the shaft having its ends fitted to ARTHUR W. DAVIS. 

